An adaptive product changeover policy for a capacitated two-product supply chain in a non-stationary demand environment

ABSTRACT

The present paper investigates the effectiveness, in terms of fill rate, of a new adaptive production control policy for a two-product, two-echelon (i.e. factory and retailer) supply chain subject to a non-stationary customer demand. To model the capacity constraints more realistically, the factory node consists of an unbuffered production line subject to failures, and non-negligible changeover times. To cope with the disruptive events, we propose a new production control strategy named Adaptive Hedging Corridor Policy. A simulation model based on discrete-time difference equations is developed, and a two-step experimental campaign is conducted to compare the proposed control policy with two well-known alternatives proposed in the literature. The analysis of the results demonstrates the effectiveness of the new adaptive strategy in maximising the fill rate of supply chains subject to a non-stationary demand.

KEYWORDS:

• changeover
• fill rate
• simulation
• production capacity
• supply chain dynamics
• disruption

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• L6 Industry Studies
• Manufacturing

Disclosure statement

There is no conflict or competing interests to declare.

Consent for publication

We state that this article has not been published before and it is not under consideration for publication at any other journal. In case of acceptance, we fully consent the publication of this article in the International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education [ASSORT project - PID2019-108756RB-I00]; Università degli Studi di Catania [PIACERI 2020/22 – GOSPEL / 59722022261]; Università di Catania [PIACERI 2020/22 – GOSPEL / 59722022261].